ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Ordinary Time
Kyle Lake
This Sunday we will gather to worship God and as an act of worship we will come together to express our collective gratitude to God for the life and legacy of Kyle Lake.
I will share in the liturgy Sunday, but I will not directly address anything about my personal relationship or experience with Kyle. So I thought I'd take this part of the newsletter to tell you what I remember and admire about him.
First, an explanatory word about what happened. It seemed like in the first few years after Kyle's death there was a strong chance that a complete stranger would have heard about what happened to Kyle, even if vaguely, especially within Baptist/church circles. His story and death were national news. Eventually though that familiarity began to fade. I now don't assume people know Kyle's story even if they've been in Waco for a while.
On October 30th, 2005 UBC gathered for Sunday morning worship on Homecoming weekend. After a few songs were played Kyle reached for a microphone while standing in a baptistry that no longer exists in the church. Because a heater in the baptistry was improperly grounded, electricity was leaking into the water. When Kyle grabbed the microphone he was killed.
Kyle was my pastor for about 14 months. My wife and I walked through the doors of UBC for the very first time in August of 2004. Dutton was playing in lieu of the traveling David Crowder Band. It was a typical first-sunday-back-with-students. We found a pair of seats in the back and without knowing anything about the church, I eagerly awaited to see who was going to give a the sermon at a place like this. Enter Kyle. I couldn't have imagined someone more perfect for the job. I remember a few things about that first sermon I heard:
1. Kyle was addressing God's will/providence in a way that I was comfortable with. You can read about his opinions from his first book. Look at the section on debunking God as a task master.
2. I also remember Kyle telling a story about Sutton and Jude's 2nd birthday party. Things were going smooth until they opened a present from someone (Craig, I think). The gift was a Wiggles guitar. The guitar was a source of envy and created a firestorm among the twins.
3. Kyle talked about going on a camping trip with a bunch of guys and getting made fun of because he brought along his Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo.
I was hooked. Our church search was over and I spent the next year learning with Kyle as my pastor.
I think aside from Sundays and the few times when I'd see Kyle in public places, we had probably four to five substantial get togethers and or hang out times. Here's what I remember best about Kyle:
Kyle liked to have fun. UBC continues to be a place where we take God seriously, but not ourselves. One friend describes UBC as a place of playful reverence. While I think we continue to cultivate that atmosphere, Kyle in particular, was good at injecting humor into that environment. He loved to play jokes on people and use smart humor to challenge trite cultural assumptions. While Kyle always gave great care to the worship gathering, he never did so at the expense of God's own sense of humor.
Kyle was relevant. Long before there was a magazine by the same name and that word had become the latest casualty in the evangelical vernacular, Kyle was truly relevant. He was a pioneer in engaging culture and asking questions about not only what was happening in our culture, but also what would happen in our culture. When the Emergent Church movement was fresh and new having recently grown out of Youth Specialties, Kyle was a conversation partner and a good one at that.
Kyle was full of life. I remember in the weeks after Kyle's death thinking that it would have been normal or at least seemed more feasible had we gotten a phone call that Kyle died in a car accident or something like that. The type of death Kyle died made processing more difficult. The circumstances of his death along with his personality made the juxtaposition poignant. The most full-of-life person I knew, died. Kyle oozed vibrancy, and the not overwhelming annoying kind, in a way that I have seen few people do. He talked about embracing life. You can hear it in the benediction we still say and you can hear in the last sermon he wrote and could see it his eyes. Kyle loved life and that was contagious.
There are many people who knew Kyle better than I did. A few them will share with us this Sunday. I hope you'll join us to remember and celebrate him.
Children's Update From Emily
Hey parents! Here are a few things you need to know about this Sunday…First, I hope you are all enjoying your UBCKids Service CD’s! This is all of the music for our upcoming UBCKids Service, so it’s important that your kids get a chance to become familiar with it! If you didn’t get one last Sunday, I have plenty more! Just let me know!
Next, the Parent Letter for the UBCKids Service will go home this Sunday! It will outline our service and have important information, dates, times and reminders for the next few weeks! I will also email this info out, but if you’re like me, having a copy in hand helps my tired little brain retain the information!
Finally, since our service this week will be unique, there wasn’t a good time to dismiss the Roots Class. Because we don’t want our Roots kids to miss out on our Beatitudes lessons, they will be in the Red Room (their normal hangout) for the entire service! Be sure to bring them over after checking them in!
Thanks, and if you have any questions or concerns, email Emily at emily@ubcwaco.org!
Thailand
If you are interested in traveling to Thailand with UBC, May 15-29, 2016, there are still some spots open. Please contact toph@ubcwaco.org for more information.
Work is Worship
Greeters: Team Haines & Will
Coffee Makers: Joy & Ryan (Dream Team)
Mug Cleaners: Leigh & Stephen
Announcements:
Sunday Sermon Text: Hebrews 12:1-2 "Surrounded by Saints-A Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Kyle Lake." Please be in prayer for our service this weekend. We will be celebrating the life of our pastor and friend Kyle Lake as we gather to worship God.
Please be in prayer for our next leadership team meeting which is Sunday, October 25th.
Girls Night, November 6th.
Guys Night, November 13th.
Thanksgiving Love Feast, November 22nd.
Advent Workshop, November 29th.
Backside event display the talent of local/UBC artists, Dec. 4th.
Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?:
254 498 2261
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair- Kristin Dodson: kschwebke@prodigy.net
Joy Wineman: joy.wineman@gmail.com
Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu
David Wilhite: David_Wilhite@baylor.edu
Byron Roldan: Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu
Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com
Jon Davis: jdavis83@gmail.com
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu
Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com
Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu
Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com
Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com
Lacy Crocker: lacykcrocker@gmail.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Maxcey Blaylock: maxceykite@gmail.com
Mathew Crawford: mathewcrawford@yahoo.com
Callie Schrank: Callie_Schrank@baylor.edu
Jeff Walter: Jeff_Walter@ubcwaco.org
Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu